Canberra community group Females in Training (FIT) may not be well known but it is helping women of all ages and abilities take big strides physically and mentally, with coaching in cycling, swimming and running.
Just some examples: Weston business analyst and mum-of-two Sam Shields couldn't swim when she joined FIT, now she is regularly swimming two kilometres. Turner public servant Prue Guest was a strong swimmer and cyclist but not much of a runner in the beginning. Now, she's training for a half-marathon.
Coombs sales consultant Taisa Vieira had just migrated from Brazil to Canberra when she decided to join FIT, looking for friends as well as fitness. Now she feels absolutely part of a community.
And public servant and mum-of-two Kate Corbett was just looking for a way to keep fit - and sane - during the pandemic. At the height of the lockdowns, she would cycle once a week with Taisa, not only to stay fit but to feel connected.
"It got us through," she said. "I needed to do something outdoors and to see another human being that wasn't my family."
FIT is a not-for-profit organisation that is set up to help women of all ages and abilities. It is running a triathlon training program from January 27 and looking for participants. The club has been running the program for many years but had to cancel it in 2020 and postpone in 2021.
"It's a really great way to improve fitness, learn new skills and become part of a really supportive and friendly community of women," Kate, 41, said.
Sam, now president of FIT, can attest to that, joining the group three years ago, unable to swim a stroke.
FIT uses the Canberra Girls Grammar School pool to train in, but also sometimes Lake Burley Griffin. Sam, 38, remembers the first time she attempted swimming with the group at the lake. "I stepped into the water and couldn't see my feet and started to cry," she said.
The FIT coaches were "so lovely", encouraging her along the way and allowing her to go at her own pace. "They talked me off a ledge," she said, with a laugh. Sam was swimming within eight weeks.
More information about Females in Training at fitact.org.au
And an All Women's Triathlon will be held at Stromlo Leisure Centre on Sunday, February 20. Registrations at canberramultisportevents.com.au/
